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Talkin’ trash

If Toronto has its way — and it just might — Michigan will be stuck with about 1.5 million tons of the Canadian city’s trash. Toronto’s bid to send its commercial and residential refuse to northern Ontario ended up in the trash heap last week when negotiations broke down between the city and the landfill owner.

Now, the garbage is scheduled for transport via truck or rail to landfills in Washtenaw and Wayne counties as early as next year. Lucky us.

But some Toronto council members who were opposed to the northern Ontario deal and were said to be toasting their victory with champagne may want to put away the bubbly. Michigan and Windsor environmentalists don’t intend to let the rubbish roll in without a fight. The Toronto trash issue has been around for a while, resulting in demonstrations and letter-writing campaigns in Toronto, says Jeff Gearhart, campaign director of The Ecology Center in Ann Arbor

“We’ve had longstanding opposition to the concept, “ he said. “We are committed … to stop it.”